The Origin of Love - Mika
  • Band Name: Mika
  • Record Label: Republic
  • Release Date: Oct 16, 2012
Metascore
69 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
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  1. Q Magazine
    Oct 18, 2012
    80
    The result is persuasive, likable grown-up pop without that off-putting jazz-hands factor. [Nov 2012, p.99]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. Q Magazine
    Oct 18, 2012
    80
    The result is persuasive, likable grown-up pop without that off-putting jazz-hands factor. [Nov 2012, p.99]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. The Guardian
    Oct 15, 2012
    80
    The fact is, The Origin of Love is simply a good record by one of the UK's more undervalued pop songwriters.
  4. BBC Music
    Oct 15, 2012
    70
    If Mika had refined this into a 10-track collection, trimming the cuts that don't quite click, we'd have an excellent album on our hands. As it is, The Origin of Love is stretched slightly too long.
  5. The Independent on Sunday (UK)
    Oct 15, 2012
    60
    The Origin of Love is an autotuned, multitracked meringue whose ingredients include 10cc and Buggles, and whose only weakness is the absence of a killer single.
  6. All Music Guide
    Oct 15, 2012
    60
    While it's odd that The Origin of Love doesn't work as well in practice as it might have in theory, it still has enough bright moments to please most fans.
  7. PopMatters
    Nov 19, 2012
    50
    With The Origin of Love it sounds like he's sacrificed that youthful glee in his songwriting for club anthems that aren't really all that mature.
  8. musicOMH.com
    Oct 16, 2012
    50
    It is an accomplished pop album but one that struggles to make any sort of lasting impression.
  9. The Observer (UK)
    Oct 15, 2012
    40
    Other than the perky pabulum of prostitution singalong Lola and a big fat feelgood chorus on Step with Me, the hooks and hits are thin on the ground.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.1 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4
  1. iAGR
    9
    I have to admit that at first the only song on this album that really captured me, was the first track, "Origin of Love" (which is also the name of the album). I figured that other songs would be alike, and I gave them a listen. Nothing really got to me at that time, and I kept playing "Origin of Love" (the song) for quite a few weeks.

    Well, anything gets boring when repeated over and over. Which is why I decided to give the album a second shot, and this time all the songs were just mind-blowingly amazing! I don't know why I hadn't noticed it. They all sound equally catchy (some better than the others, but still) and have some decent story to tell.

    A great album!    … Full Review »
  2. Armuti
    1
    underwhelming. it used to be... every song stood out and the albums much fun. this one just bleeds into ears - so forced and annoying. i'd give 'lola' a go, others are just boring.… Full Review »
  3. Jarrinvaded
    9
    Mika's new album has a LOT to offer and most of it is quite good. While it doesn't contain quite as much pure fun as his first album, it is still quite infectious--definitely an improvement over Mika's second album. Of all the tracks, there is only one I will probably skip over ("Overrated" which is somewhat cloying, especially in the acoustic version on the Deluxe edition of the album). As there were on the other albums, there are a few "hmmm...that melody sounds vaguely familiar" moments. A certain riff in the title track reminds me so much of Belle & Sebastian's "Seeing Other People" that I had to listen to the B&S song to compare. I'll give Mika the benefit of the doubt and assume it was a tribute, much as "Touches You" on Mika's second album was clearly a tribute to George Michael. Still Origins of Love (both the album and the title track) are powerful evidence that Mika is an immensely talented and original artist worthy of greater fame and fortune than he currently has in the U.S. There are several tracks that would fit right in on U.S pop music radio and I hope that this album might be the one that puts Mika firmly on the top of the U.S charts where he should be.… Full Review »
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